Not only is it the first year that all three of my kids are in school all day, it is also the first year that all three of my kids are taking packed lunches every day.
Let's begin by saying - both of my grandmothers were school lunch ladies - in a school district where that meant actually cooking the food, not just serving something prepared by the lowest bidding catering company. Needless to say, I grew up eating hot lunches at school. The head of the cafeteria at my elementary school was the woman my mother was named for.
I remember fondly the amazing battered fish and chips that were served on Fridays. I can still remember the taste of the peanut butter and butter on white bread sandwiches that were available to kids who forgot their lunch/lunch money. I remember the tiny blue tickets.
And my kids have eaten hot lunch for the most part for the last 8 years. Why? Because I was too overwhelmed by the idea of packing lunches, because I'm not good at thinking of a variety of ways to pack lunches and because I have a childhood bias against cold lunch (which my children do not share).
But the oldest's school lunch schedule is a mess this year. The youngest won't eat what's on the school lunch menu (and claims not to have time to eat even if he doesn't have to stand in line). And the middle child decided last year that he preferred to pack lunches. For the most part in the past I've made the kids pack their own lunches, so this year I'm embarking on an adventure in lunch-packing.
Helping along this adventure - some great websites with lunch ideas! We don't have Bentos but they have good visible stuff.
So, what's in your kids' lunches? And how do you avoid getting in a pb&j rut?
Thankfully I do NOT have to pack my kids' lunches yet. Their preschool makes all their meals and snacks (which is good because we're paying out the nose for that place). I'll definitely need help in that department when kindergarten rolls around next year!
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting on my running blog the other week! :^)
Meagan likes homemade lunchables, we do turkey pepperoni, slices of cheese, and crackers (or some other variety of meat cheese and crackers) then I throw in some veggie or fruit and sometimes a treat (cookie, pudding, squeezable yogurt,etc)
ReplyDeleteShe also likes mini bagels with meat and cheese.
Tortilla roll ups peanut butter with banana slices on a tortilla then roll up, or cream cheese turkey, and cheese on a tortilla then roll up and slice.
Boiled eggs are a good choice too.
The tubes of yogurt are great if you keep them in the freezer, put them in the lunch box and it will be thawed by lunch time.
Soup in a thermos. Even mac and cheese in a thermos.